Blood and Water cancelled
by Freeburnerr
Summary: Sorry to those of you who were following this although you were few in number but I can't do this any more. It's taken way too long and I have no time to write it. So I will not be publishing any more chapters.
1. Prelude

I know people say they encounter strange things in their lives. Weird events. Miracles. They haven't seen anything. They don't know what its like to have everything you have ever known and believed about yourself to be turned upside down. But I do. It's happened to me twice, one was when I became an atheist and the other was... well, let me introduce myself first. My name is Simon Baker, at that time I was a near-16-year-old teenager from Glasgow, Scotland, and I'm going to tell you a story...

* * *

It started three months ago next Sunday, or the Sunday after I don't know. I was power-walking in the woods at night (that's two out of three strikes of stupidity) and I got the funniest feeling that something bad was about to happen. The funny part is though, although this happened a lot and they were usually wrong, for a month or so previously they had only been a bit off. Whenever I felt that something bad was going to happen to me, I would read the news the next morning to find that someone nearby at the time of the feeling was hurt. The type of 'hurt' varied from a mugging to one unlucky person who nearly got _killed_, but results are results I guess.

Either way, this one was different. This time I felt that something bad was going to happen nearby and I would of put two and two together and ran if two things weren't stopping me. One was my iPod and the other was the fact that I was incredibly sleepy at the time. Instead, I kept on walking, and that was strike three. In the middle of the woods, give or take fifty feet, I realised that someone was following me. I did the clichéd "dramatic-look-over-the-shoulder-while-wearing-a-hood" and the person kept on walking so I carried on my way. This was common sense at the time, because there was only one path at the time so the person wouldn't have had a chance to go anywhere else.

However, around ten minutes later and after several possible turn-off points, the person picked up speed and ran towards me. Again, however, I had my iPod on and I was wearing a hood so I didn't realise this until they were within inches of catching me. I turned around at the last second, accidentally dodging them, and ran off of the beaten path in the general direction of my house thinking "Houston, we have a problem."

* * *

As you can probably tell by the fact that I was power-walking _anyway_, I'm a good runner. My fitness isn't great, so I can't do it for long, but I was better than even the super-sporty people at the 100m back when I actually gave a toss about Physical Education. Those days are long gone, but I'm still just as good if not better at running than back in First Year. At the beginning of the chase, I used this to my advantage and created a comfortable lead jumping over tree stumps and ducking under branches. Unfortunately for me though, fatigue kicked in a lot quicker than usual and after around five minutes I was exhausted and I fell to my knees. Even worse was that the person following me was only slightly less quick than me so as I was on my hands and knees and about to stand up I received a kick to the gut for my troubles. I rolled to the side, clutching my stomach in pain, before receiving another kick and rolling so that my back was against a tree.

The person, who as it turned out was a man in his late 30s or early 40s, started creeping towards me and almost taunting me since I was too winded to respond. He said something along the lines of "I hope you're happy with how far you got, because I was only playing with you" and "You're going to make a good catch" in a mocking and proud tone. But what annoyed me most was that it was justified. He had tried to catch me and due to my own shortcomings he succeeded, but I've always hated arrogance in a victor as well as bitterness in a runner-up. If your pride verges on your achievements over other beings then you do not deserve to be anywhere near healthy enough to achieve them in my opinion.

* * *

I passed out because of the pain, but the last thing I can remember before I did was the attacker. His eyes weren't normal, you know blue or green. They were white, and his canines were more like fangs than teeth. But, when I woke up again, it wasn't the expected sight of the attacker standing over me that I saw. Instead, the attacker was knocked out and sitting against a tree and my best friend stood with his hand outstretched towards me. "Need a hand?" he asked, and as I grabbed hold of his hand and he pulled me to my feet I realised that if it weren't for him I would be dead.

His name is Gareth Henson, and I've been friends with him for as long as I can remember. We both have the same interests, we've got a similar sense of humour, we even do just as well as each other in school tests. But while I'm slightly slim (which I don't regard as a good thing) and mostly a runner, he's more bulky and an awesome fighter. We've both saved each other's skins many times, funnily enough not just in a physical sense, but even then it always seemed like a miracle whenever one of us helped the other out at this level. And as we both walked home, chatting about school the next day and the video gaming awards the night before, I almost wondered what would have happened if Gareth wasn't there. Would I have been killed, or something worse?

* * *

As it turns out, it was a bit of both...


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Black Dawn**

{author's note: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarcosuchas for offering advice on the story and, in particular, for writing part of the opening to the prologue... then openly mock him for suggesting something incredibly similar to New Moon as a chapter title xD}

Waking up the next day was one of the weirdest things I have ever experienced. Or at least it was at the time, but more about that later. The entire night beforehand I was thinking about the attack and more specifically the attacker. Why were his eyes white? Why did he have fangs that didn't look fake? Was he a Goth of any kind (believe it or not we still get them over here)?

The weird part wasn't that, however. It was waking up and finding everything normal. This was probably enhanced by the fact that I'm a very analytical person. I knew that there wasn't anything wrong, that what happened the night before was (or in this case, 'should've been') a one-off occurrence. But I was cautious anyway. And because of this, I nearly missed the bus which wasn't the best start to the week I could've had even under the circumstances.

* * *

Luckily for me, another of my friends saw me on the way down and asked the driver to wait for me. His name is Callum and I didn't really know him that well at the time. That's not to say we weren't good friends, because we were. It's just that we were both 'the quiet type' when we met and even though that was back when we started secondary school and we knew a lot about each other personality-wise, emotion-wise etc. since then, we still hadn't gotten to know that much actual information about each other.

Even so, I didn't tell him about the attack while I was thanking him and sitting next to him on the bus. I didn't tell anyone, actually. Not even my parents, which was awkward when they discovered the bruises on my abdomen that morning. We just talked about what we did at the weekend and how, as usual, Callum forgot his homework and needed to copy mine.

* * *

Break time, around 11 in the afternoon, was the first time my entire group of friends were together. There was me, Gareth and Callum as well as Steven, Alan, another Simon, Phil, Richard and Graham and despite our differences in music, fashion and skills, we had one thing in common: we all loved videogames. Which was great because due to the VGAs being such a big talking point nobody cared that I dismissed the attack as a "WTF Just Happened" moment. Unfortunately, that also meant that I was unprepared for the next one, which was quite literally just around the corner.

We were in the playground, next to a turning circle where parents park at home time when their kids are too lazy to walk down a hill to get picked up. This, unfortunately, is also where the buses drop us off, and sitting at the front to hear how angry the bus drivers got was well worth being among the S1s sometimes. At breaks it's usually empty, so we were surprised to see a Vauxhall Corsa come up the hill and park at the pavement. Not surprised about the Corsa, mind. Those are more common up here than Old Firm fans.

What surprised us was the person that got out. She looked around our age, with shoulder-length black hair, slightly tanned skin and black eye-liner. She wore the standard school uniform - a tie, a shirt/blouse and (in this case) black trousers - with a black waterproof on top. Three of us simultaneously had to tell Rich that her first day in the school wasn't a good time to hit on her. We tried not to stare at her, since that's the worst thing you can do to somebody on their first day really, but I couldn't help but feel that our paths would cross sooner or later.

* * *

It turned out to be sooner. Lunchtime to be exact. We were next to the turning circle again, organising an online session on our Wiis that night, when the girl approached us. Turned out that she was a video gamer too, and more to the point her and Callum had already met online on Bioshock 2. We ended up talking about that as well, and the girl sort of integrated herself into the group. We all seemed to get along really well with her anyway, and it was better her being with us than being with the 'cool kids' (who we didn't get along with btw) so we let it happen. Her name was Tina, and I misheard this as Tifa several times in my docileness much to the delight of some of the other members of the group.

Things didn't stay so civil for long however. On the way out of school on Friday, she whispered three words to me: 'Blood and Water'. I didn't know what she was talking about, and over msn she denied ever saying anything which I was starting to believe. Therefore, I went for a walk the next morning around the Waterworks nearby. The Waterworks comprise of two reservoirs with a footpath around both of them and the landscape and the views are just beautiful. On one side of the reservoirs is a hill, but if you look out you can see farmland, forests and the city of Glasgow in the distance. In the winter, the slope is covered in snow and me and my friends always sledge down it. Well, my friends do, I just watch. Scared of heights.

The other side is covered in forestry, which again is very beautiful. The forestry covers most of one reservoir, and I always go there to meditate and relax since I know of a spot off the beaten path that nobody else goes to. Well, nobody _went_ to. It was a sanctuary surrounded by trees and bushes, and inside you could still see the waterworks outside. The blue water shimmering in the summer, framed by the trees on either side, was one of those sights you never forget.

Anyway, I went around the other reservoir first and something just didn't feel right. I figured that was because the trees on the reservoir-side of the path were all cut down, but even then that idea seemed preposterous. I knew there was something wrong, but I decided that it wouldn't show itself unless I pretended there wasn't. Just like in the woods six days prior. When I got to the turnoff between the path between the reservoirs and the path around the second, I still hadn't found the cause of my worry and kept going. The problem arised as I entered the forest part.

* * *

"Simon! I'm off to the shops!" a voice shouted from downstairs. Simon stood up from his desk, and opened the door before stepping back until his eyes got used to the light filling his room for the first time in a while. He stood at around 6 feet tall, which made him one of the tallest in his year. He wore a navy t-shirt and torn jeans, not dressing up in anything smarter since he didn't expect to be leaving the house. He went downstairs as his mum reached the door and asked "Could you get me my magazine while you're there please?"

"Wow, for someone that nearly died, you're rather on the energetic side."

"Yeah, well. Tis good to finally be able to sit at my desk in my bedroom in peace, although I preferred it when I didn't to be honest."

Simon and his mum both smiled, using a joke to counter-act a shattering memory. "I'll be back soon" his mum sang, before walking out the door and closing it behind her. Simon's smile faded again, as he went back to his dark bedroom and picked up his pen once more.

* * *

As soon as the gravel beneath my feet turned to mud I knew something was definitely up. I turned my iPod off, got a pair of leather gloves out of my pocket and psyched myself up before making my way to the hideout, but even that didn't prepare me for what I saw. A male body lay in the middle of the sanctuary, his neck bleeding in two places. As soon as I saw it, I suddenly went from spoiling for a fight to scared as a child. I glanced around, seeing nobody else, before taking my phone out and dialling 999. Or rather, try to dial 999, but my phone's screen started fuzzing up before the phone switched off altogether.

I hit it a few times, before hurriedly putting it back in my pocket again. It was then that I saw the bleeding cuts on the man's neck. They looked more like... bite marks? My thoughts went back to the event in the woods. I remember thinking _Surely this isn't a vampire attack. They don't exist, do they?_ A voice behind me answered that question before I realised I had said it. "Yes, we do."

I turned around, and stood before me was the man from the forest incident. This time, however, I could see his appearance. He was around the same height as me, but much more muscled and with battle scars covering his face. His bald head was uncovered, unlike on the Sunday when he wore a hood, and it made his appearance much more intimidating. But there were two features that stood out: his white eyes and his fangs. I tried to speak, but my mind was going much faster than my mouth. Eventually, I managed to ask "You're a vampire?"

The man grinned. "Well done, Belmont. Yes, I am a vampire."

"Belmont? What do you mean Belmont?"

"You'll understand soon enough."

The man turned to leave, but out of instinct I tried to charge him from behind. He saw it coming and landed a punch straight to my jaw. I fell back, almost unconscious, but he just stood over me. He said "The only reason why I'm leaving is because of the present I left for you at your house" and walked away, while I struggled to stay awake. When I finally managed to recover, he was long gone, so I went straight back home again. _What did he mean 'the present he left for me?_ I thought on the way back home, before my phone went off. Picking it up, I heard a really worried-sounding Mum on the other end. "Simon! Get home now!"

"Why? What's the problem?" I asked, slurring my words. My mind had recovered, but my jaw sure hadn't.

"It's your brother. He's... he's..."

I grew concerned at this. _I'm going to regret asking this but..._ "He's what?"

"He's dead."

* * *

I rushed home, and when I entered through the back door the first thing I saw was my mum crouched and crying her eyes out over my little brother's dead body. And just like the man at the sanctuary, there were two bleeding holes at the side of his neck. My mum looked up and saw my surprised face, tears welling up in my eyes. The first thing she asked was "Where were you?"

"I was up at the waterworks, I said that before you went to bed."

"That was hours ago. You said you'd only be gone for 45 minutes!"

"Yeah, I ran into someone. Well, two people. Well, one was dead."

"And the other?"

"Well, remember what happened in the forest a week ago?"

"You ran into him again? What happened?"

"I think he's a vampire. In fact, I know he is, he told me so himself. He killed the guy I saw up at the waterworks and..." The tears started flowing at this point, making what I was going to say difficult. "...And he said the only reason why he didn't kill me was because of 'the present he left for me'."

It took us about three hours to recover. Craig was only 7 years old, and although he annoyed me constantly, we still had fun times together. In the months leading up to his death, we were gradually becoming more friendly towards one another. This made his death all the more tragic, but turned my sadness into determination.

"So he's behind this? You should report this to the police or something" my mum suggested.

"Do you seriously think the police will believe me? I'm 16 years old, as soon as I say 'vampire' they'll think I'm pulling their leg."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"Well, the vamp called me Belmont so I was hoping you could tell me."

"I'm afraid not. Maybe you should stay safe for a while until this blows over."

I stood up at this point and took my phone out. "Actually, that's the worst thing I could do. If that guy knows where I live, staying here could put you and me in danger. I'm going to talk it over with a few people, but although I'm still living here, I'm not hiding here."

"What are you saying? You're going to end up getting yourself killed!"

"No, I'm not. I'm simply playing a mix between Hide and Seek and Russian Roulette."

"But both of those are games of luck."

"Exactly."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - A Brother's Mourning**

The next day, I was supposed to be attending a gaming day with my friends but I couldn't. Not after what happened to my brother. I stayed off of school the following week too, but on Friday at around 7 there was a knock on my door. My parents were both out, so I answered it to see Tina standing in the porch. "May I come in?" she asked, her hands behind her back with a smile on her face. I would've let her in anyway, but she seemed... cute? No, that wasn't it, but holy crap was I nervous all of a sudden. "Erm... yeah, sure" I managed to splutter out eventually, stepping to the side.

To be honest though, it wasn't just seeing her there that gave me butterflies in the stomach. I hadn't seen anyone for a week and I hadn't answered any phone calls, but I'd been thinking of her. I had no idea why though. I had only seen her for a week, surely that's not enough time to fall in love, right? Right?

But I digress, after she hung up her coat and took her shoes off we both went to my TV room. I used to share it with my little brother, with our consoles and a Sky box hooked up to a TV, but obviously I couldn't any more. The room always made me think of him, but I still stayed there anyway. It was where I grew up, after all. I got a can of cola each for me and her and we sat down before she got straight to the point.

"Simon, where have you been? Nobody's seen you in a week, you haven't been on msn, you haven't answered phone calls... everyone's getting worried about you."

"Well, I've been going through a tough time right now. I didn't want anyone to see me this upset."

"Yeah, you always seemed the most reserved... is something wrong?"

I couldn't reply any more, the memories returning again, so I simply nodded and looked down.

She put an arm around my shoulders and asked "What happened?" I felt as though I shouldn't tell her, this was a story for my closest friends to hear first, but there was something about her that made me feel... comforted. Sort of like that feeling at the psychiatrist, that you can tell this person anything and they won't judge you (although none of my shrinks were like that...). But before I could tell her anything, her phone went off.

She went into the hall and answered it, but (un)luckily I knew a place to eavesdrop and my curiosity got the better of me. I went to my hiding place just in time to hear the important bit:

"...you picked the worst possible time to phone... I'm at Simon's house... yes, _that_ Simon... well none of his friends showed up, I had to... yeah, he's pretty shaken up..." There was a longer pause after this one, before she replied "What do you mean I'm being watched?" _Shit!_ I quickly snuck back to the chair where I was sitting and was taking a drink as she popped her head around the door. As she walked back to the spot, I heard her say "Unless I was talking too loud, he shouldn't've heard me. He hadn't moved."

I decided not to eavesdrop anymore. I had heard enough. But the question remained: _Is Tina really a spy?_ But then there was another problem. If she was a spy, how was I supposed to react? If I told my friends, they'd never believe me. They might even think I was the villain in this story. But if she wasn't, all my worrying was for nothing. Even now, as I sit here, I wish I hadn't eavesdropped on the conversation. Whether I was right or wrong (I'm not going to spoil it), it would've made my life so much easier.

When she finally came back, she had that caring look on her face again as she sat down next to me and I explained everything that had happened. Everything, including what happened the day before I met her. But her reactions were as you would expect, and this put me back into a dilemma again. _There's no way she could be one of __**them**__, if she is she'd have known what happened. Her reactions wouldn't be so natural. Then again, there are some pretty damn good actors in my school..._

Unfortunately, she noticed this too. "Is there something else?"

I had to think on my feet. "Well, I've barely known you for two weeks and I just told you things I haven't told my closest friend yet without batting an eyelid. But when I talk to you, it's almost as though I've known you for ages."

Tina smirked at this. "People say I always have been a good listener. My parents want me to be a psychiatrist some day."

I was about to say something, but then I stopped. Mainly because I had the exact same thought just before her phone went off. "You're a mind reader, do you know that?"

"People say that too" Tina laughed.

"Well, it would definitely help. My mates at school, Gareth especially, keep calling me a ninja but that wouldn't help in Forensics I don't think."

"You're wanting to go into Forensics? Maybe the two dead bodies were a bit of a sign."

"Rather than a serial killer trying to drive me insane and make my life a living hell?"

"Or a bit of both, you never know. But you have a good eye for detail and your gaming buddies say you're very determined at times."

"Oh, that's nothing. You should see my big brother. He played a game online for 2 hours straight just to pwn someone that kept spawn camping him. And he managed it in the end very epically I must say."

"Even so, keep your chin up. I'm sure this'll all work out for the better."

We kept chatting like this for what felt like hours, getting to know more about each other, and it turns out we were incredibly similar. But then her phone rang again and after looking at the text she received she said to me "I'm really sorry, but I've got to go."

"No problem, it was nice talking to you."

"You're very welcome, Simon. That reminds me though, are you up for towning tomorrow?"

"I can't, we've got my brother's funeral tomorrow. No idea how long it'll last."

"Right, well if you're up for it we're going to the Cathouse at six. I'd love to see you there."

With a smile on my face and a spring in my step, I handed her her coat while she put her shoes on and showed her to the door. She even kissed me on the way out, which was cool to say the least. But as soon as she left all my joy faded again. I was alone, still mourning and even more confused than before. When we talked I felt like I knew so much about Tina, but once I could think I realised it might all be a ruse.

Luckily, before I could properly depress myself my parents came home. However, when they saw two half-full cans of cola they knew something was up. "Simon, did you have friends round?"

"Technically" I replied, very slowly and unsurely. When I was given the 'explain, now' look, I continued "Well, one of my friends was really worried about me so she came over and-"

"She?" both my parents asked in unison, before my mum asked "Since when did you have a girlfriend?"

"Firstly, she's a friend that's a girl, not the other way around" I deadpanned. "And secondly, thanks ever so much for helping with my self-esteem at this exceptionally difficult time in my life. Now, as I was saying, she came round to comfort me and since we didn't know each other too well we started talking about ourselves and stuff."

"Is she hot?" my dad asked in typical middle-aged dad fashion.

"Yes, she is in fact very hot. However, luckily, she's also way out of your age range."

"Okay, you win" my dad laughed, before him and my mum left me alone again.

Simon's mum came home and called "Hello!" to her son, but there was no answer. She put her shopping down and walked upstairs to find the door to Simon's bedroom shut. However, just before knocking she could hear somebody sobbing inside. Sure enough, when she opened the door, Simon was sitting on his bed with tears in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

"Just my brother. I still miss him, even after everything that's happened. I wish none of it had happened, that I still had my normal life instead of this paranormal one."

"We all miss him, Simon. But there's no point in crying over it now. What has happened has happened, we can't change that. It's better to move on."

"Yeah, I guess so" Simon shrugged, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

"Besides, your story needs to be told" his mum added, before walking out of the door. A few minutes later, Simon finally managed to control himself and start writing again, but a thought entered his mind. _Wait, does she know I'm writing this?_

The next day was, indeed, my brother's funeral. My dad wore a black suit, my mum wore a black dress, and I wore a shirt and jeans both of which were, of course, black. A bit boring perhaps, but we were going to a funeral after all and who am I to break tradition? Everything went as normal, prayers were spoken, the body was blessed (which was a bit pointless by my eye since there was a 50/50 chance Craig would reawaken as a vampire) and the coffin was carried outside. I was one of the pallbearers, and those things are heavy to say the least. As we gathered around his grave and lowered the coffin in, I felt my sorrow start to finally fade away. I felt closure about the whole incident. I felt as though I had done my duty.

Unfortunately, some of the less-invited guests disagreed.

Almost as soon as the coffin hit the bottom of the grave, a gunshot was fired. This startled the people that were supposed to be there to say the least, who all turned to look at who had fired it. I already knew who it was. Standing there with a pistol in his hand and a smirk on his face was Craig's killer. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" he asked, before carrying on anyway. Let's face it; it was pretty clear he had everyone's attention.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Richard King. I am the one who killed the person whose funeral we are attending at this very moment."

Again, he paused as he waited for everyone to stop gasping. I don't think he even realised I hadn't turned round yet, the twat. "Don't worry though. I will not harm any of you today as long as you help me find someone. His name's Simon Baker, he should be here. I'm sure he was, he's the deceased's brother after all… Simon? You in there somewhere?"

My mum, summoning all of her intelligence, replied "If you want him, you'll have to go through me" before I pointed out "Mum, he's got a magnum. The _bullet_ will go through you, then kill me. Just get out of the way, I can handle this."

She knew something was going on, but stood aside anyway as I turned to look at Richard. "Listen, Dick. I'm sure you have some sort of plan to make my life a living hell, but the least you could do is tell me why you're targeting me of all people."

"I told you the first time we met, didn't I?"

"No. The first time we met was when you got your head kicked in my by best friend."

Richard's expression turned from cocky to bitter as fast as lightning. "Then I'll tell you in Hell."

With the signal given, I realised there was something I had missed. Another uninvited guest, this one female but wearing a balaclava, had snuck behind me by way of the grave and pulled me in by the back of the neck. It may have only been a 5 foot fall, but it still dazed me. Dazed me enough that I didn't realise what was going on until a wad of dirt hit me in the face. As I looked up, Richard and the female as well as a few other goons were standing at the edge of the grave with shovels in hand, surrounding me. I stood up immediately, but when I tried to climb up I received a boot to the head that sent me back down again. "We'll knock you out if we have to, but by the end of today that grave's going to have more than one Baker in it."

"Really? I didn't know you guys made pies…" I taunted, before grabbing one of the goons by the foot and pulling him down into the grave. He totally didn't see it coming, getting dazed when he landed on the hard lid of the coffin. I didn't have much fighting knowledge, but I knew how to kill vampires. I took the shovel he was carrying and snapped it in half, before using the sharp end of the handle-half to stab him through the heart.


End file.
